How to Make Home-Made Ice Cream in a Bag (from eHow.com)
(Editor's Note: I've tried this and it really works--and is fun, too!)
Are the kids getting bored on a hot summer day? Letting the kids make their own home-made ice cream is a great summer treat! It only takes a few minutes and it only sounds messy. (And they will even learn something when you explain to them how the ice cream forms.)
Follow these simple instructions and you and your children will be eating home-made ice cream in just a few minutes!
Things You'll Need
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ½ cup of milk or half & half (or cream for richer ice cream)
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla
• 6 tablespoons rock salt
• 1 pint-sized re-sealable plastic bag
• 1 gallon-size re-sealable plastic bag
• Ice
1. The ingredients listed here are enough to make one bag of ice cream. Mix the milk or half & half, sugar, and vanilla into the smaller bag and seal it. Half & Half makes richer ice cream, but milk works just fine too. Make sure the bag is sealed tight! (Consider sealing it in another bag to make sure none leaks out!)
2. Put enough ice in the larger bag to fill it about halfway. Add the rock salt and seal the bag. Mix the salt and ice a little by squeezing the bag. Open the bag and insert the smaller bag with the ice cream contents into the larger bag. Seal the larger bag.
3. Shake, squish and move the bag around until the smaller bag's contents changes into ice cream. This only takes a few minutes. The outer bag will condensate water (like a glass of cold water on a hot day), so this is best done outdoors.
4. When the smaller bag contains ice cream, open the larger bag and remove the smaller bag. Wipe the water off of the smaller bag. Open the smaller bag carefully and enjoy your home-made summer treat!
How does it work?
When salt comes into contact with ice, the freezing point of the ice is lowered, meaning that instead of freezing at 32 degrees, it must be at a lower temperature before it freezes (that’s why we use salt on the roads to melt ice in the winter time). When you combine ice and salt in the bag, some of the ice melts because the freezing point of the ice is lowered. The ice must absorb heat to melt, and it takes that heat from the half-and-half mixture in the other bag. When heat is taken from the half-and-half mixture, the temperature goes down and it eventually turns to ice cream.
(Editor's Note: I've tried this and it really works--and is fun, too!)
Are the kids getting bored on a hot summer day? Letting the kids make their own home-made ice cream is a great summer treat! It only takes a few minutes and it only sounds messy. (And they will even learn something when you explain to them how the ice cream forms.)
Follow these simple instructions and you and your children will be eating home-made ice cream in just a few minutes!
Things You'll Need
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ½ cup of milk or half & half (or cream for richer ice cream)
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla
• 6 tablespoons rock salt
• 1 pint-sized re-sealable plastic bag
• 1 gallon-size re-sealable plastic bag
• Ice
1. The ingredients listed here are enough to make one bag of ice cream. Mix the milk or half & half, sugar, and vanilla into the smaller bag and seal it. Half & Half makes richer ice cream, but milk works just fine too. Make sure the bag is sealed tight! (Consider sealing it in another bag to make sure none leaks out!)
2. Put enough ice in the larger bag to fill it about halfway. Add the rock salt and seal the bag. Mix the salt and ice a little by squeezing the bag. Open the bag and insert the smaller bag with the ice cream contents into the larger bag. Seal the larger bag.
3. Shake, squish and move the bag around until the smaller bag's contents changes into ice cream. This only takes a few minutes. The outer bag will condensate water (like a glass of cold water on a hot day), so this is best done outdoors.
4. When the smaller bag contains ice cream, open the larger bag and remove the smaller bag. Wipe the water off of the smaller bag. Open the smaller bag carefully and enjoy your home-made summer treat!
How does it work?
When salt comes into contact with ice, the freezing point of the ice is lowered, meaning that instead of freezing at 32 degrees, it must be at a lower temperature before it freezes (that’s why we use salt on the roads to melt ice in the winter time). When you combine ice and salt in the bag, some of the ice melts because the freezing point of the ice is lowered. The ice must absorb heat to melt, and it takes that heat from the half-and-half mixture in the other bag. When heat is taken from the half-and-half mixture, the temperature goes down and it eventually turns to ice cream.
